Ghosts of Tatooine
by Jedi Master Misty Sman-Esay
Summary: While retrieving the Killik Twilight something goes horribly wrong and now it's a race against time to save a life.
1. The Mission

If I owned Star Wars I'd order the books to be halted and rewritten. What would you do if you owned Star Wars?

This is an AU of Tatooine Ghost.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Leia stared at Mon Mothma in shock.

"You want me to do what?" She demanded.

Mon Mothma flinched at the intensity in Leia's voice.

"You have heard that the Killik Twilight has resurfaced "

Leia nodded.

"Well I thought it would be nice since you have embarrassed the Alderaanian Council if you and some others go to Tatooine and purchase it." Mon explained.

Leia gaped at her.

"I hate that moss painting!" She grumbled.

"Remember the code on the-"

"I remember!" Leia hissed.

Leia sighed. "I guess I could get a group together to retrieve it." She said after a few heartbeats.

xxxxx

Leia held Bail as Intelligence disguised them as Togruta.

"Bail like Ailyn now." She told him.

Bail stared at her before smiling.

xxxx

Hours later they boarded the _Rekindled Dream_. Ahsoka and Jix took the pilot and co pilot while Leia and Han took Communications and Tactical.

"I've been on hundreds of missions and not once did I have to be disguised." Jix grumbled, as he rearranged his lekku.

"Togruta don't usually travel alone and it's the perfect disguise." Ahsoka said. "Besides no one would suspect that we are with a Midian." Ahsoka continued as she adjusted the sling that carried five month old Shaak Ti Jixton.

"And stop messing with your lekku." She ordered and leaned over to rearrange them.

xxxxx

Leia opened her eyes sleepily.

She had been dreaming about being so happy then so worried.

But she couldn't remember the details of the dream except that she was surrounded by children and others.

"Hey, you all right?" Ahsoka asked.

"Just a dream." Leia replied.

Ahsoka looked concerned but didn't say anything.

"Hey guys we have a Star Destroyer in the system. It appears to be the Chimaera." Jix reported.

"Didn't she disappear eight years ago?" Han asked.

"Yup." Jix said.

"Maybe you know who sent them some place and said that they were missing." Ahsoka mused out loud.

"Wouldn't put it past him." Jix replied.

"Let's just mind our own business and land in Mos Espa." Corray Ly-pah said, causing everyone to turn to her.

"A good idea, after all they can't stop us." Jix said, smiling.

Keeping a wary eye on the Star Destroyer they broke the atmosphere and landed in Mos Espa.

xxxx

They made their through the dusty streets of Mos Espa. Leia held Bail close to her chest as she stared at the two storm troopers outside the Dance Hall where the auction was going to be held.

"Mawbo probably doesn't want them inside." Han whispered.

Leia nodded.

Leia watched as Ahsoka held Denis and Ailyn's hands tighter.

They walked passed the storm troopers and entered into Mawbo's Performance Hall.

A weequay took their cloaks and they entered the hall.

The hall was full of booths and pleasures.

Leia sighed and held Bail closer.

Jix, she noted, picked up Ailyn

They meandered through the hall stopping now and then to look at things being offered.

"There's one." Jix muttered. "One what?" Ailyn asked. "Guards" Jix answered.

Within minutes they identified several others that could only be guards for the former Imperials there.

"Hey, want to see our wares?" Three squibs asked, popping nearly out of nowhere.

Leia clutched Bail tightly and Ahsoka moved closer to Jix.

"No thanks," Han said.

"Surely you haven't seen anything like-"

"No thank you." Jix said as he led his family away.

Soon they were a safe distance away.

"Squibs, they'd sell you a bucket of air-" Han began. "And keep the bucket." Jix finished. "And it's true." Ahsoka commented.

They continued their tour of the booths.

One booth held some pieces that the holoscreen claimed came from Jabba the Hutt's Palace. Leia however was pretty sure that the pieces didn't come from the Hutt's palace. They weren't lewd enough for the deceased Hutt's tastes.

In one booth Leia admired a piece of art entitled The Last Lake. It was quite beautiful.

Next to the painting was a holocube of a young boy, somewhere between the ages eight and ten. He was standing in front of a cockpit of some type. He was clearly posing for the holo and had such a contagious grin that Leia found herself smiling with him.

It appeared that he was either pretending that he had just won something or, just maybe, won it himself. It had been done before.

Leia was suddenly aware of a human man watching her and her group.

"Nice holocube." She managed.

The man nodded.

Leia glanced around for the holoscreen and nearly stepped on a smashed one on the floor, unreadable.

Leia sighed.

"He's pretty cute." She commented to the man.

The man smiled. "Yes, I suppose so." He answered. A distant look on his face.

"Human children can be so adorable. Jix commented.

"What happened to the holoscreen?" Ahsoka asked.

The man scowled.

"The Imperials smashed it." He growled.

Leia frowned. What reason would former Imperials have to smash a holoscreen?

"They would have destroyed the holocube if I hadn't told them that they would have to pay for it." The man continued.

Jix shook his head.

"What did he do?" Ahsoka asked.

"He won the Boonta Eve Classic."

Jix's mouth opened and Han laughed.

"Humans can't Pod Race, especially as younglings."Han said scornfully.

"I wouldn't repeat that to any of the locals. Many of them remember him winning the Boonta Eve Classic." The man cautioned.

Han snorted then turned to everyone else.

"We have other booths to visit." He reminded them.

They followed Han out of the booth and into the next one.

xxxxxx

Leia sat down in a Cantina and sighed.

She had prayed that painting being offered wasn't Killik Twilight but it was.

"Signal Corray, the painting is the real deal." Leia told Jix.

Xxxxx

Please review and let me know what you think!


	2. The Auction

Hours later they made their way to a private viewing booth in the dance hall. Shaak Ti fussed the whole way.

"Why is Mawbo hosting this auction?" Ahsoka asked, as she tried to comfort her distraught daughter.

"Rumor has it that she's doing it for one of her old lovers." Jix commented. "And she has a lot of lovers, old and new."

Leia rolled her eyes.

Two men dressed in Imperial uniforms stood near the stage. Once again it was easy to spot the guards.

"I have a strange feeling about those former Imperials." Leia commented.

Jix nodded.

"I doubt that they are up to any good." He commented.

"We might need to report this to the Senate." Ahsoka said.

Silence fell among the adults, but the children chattered happily.

Finally a human woman stepped onto the stage.

"Good day Gentlebeings of the Galaxy. I am Mawbo." The woman, Mawbo stated.

"We know that!" A man in the crowd called and more than several people laughed.

"And today we are going to start this auction off with a bang!" Mawbo announced.

A young twi'lek female stepped onto the stage holding something and set it on a holoprojector.

Instantly in the air appeared a large holo of the holocube of the young Pod Racer. Locals cheered loudly while several people, mostly offworlders, booed.

Han groaned.

"As you can see this is one of a kind holo of the first and to date only human ever to win a pod race. It has been put up for auction by the pilot's childhood friend Kitster Banai." Mawbo said.

Some skeptical jeers erupted from some offwrolders.

The man, Kitster Banai, made his way to the stage, gestured at Mawbo and whispered something in her ear before moving back into the crowd.

"For those of you that toured Mr. Banai's booth after his holoscreen malfunctioned the holocube is that of Mos Espa's very own Anakin Skywalk-" Mawbo was cut off by cheering from the crowd.

"Did she just try to say that that is a holocube of Anakin Skywalker?" Jix asked, shocked.

"I think so." Ahsoka said, as she maneuvered Shaak Ti so she could nurse her.

"This is insane." Han whispered.

"Luke and I did find records that stated that our father was found on Tatooine." Leia commented.

Meanwhile Mawbo turned to a former Imperial. "Would you like to start the bidding sir? Little Anakin went on to make quite a career for himself."

The officer made a rude gesture at her.

A voice called out from the audience. "I bid one hundred."

"A hundred fifty!" Another voice called out.

"I say we bid on it." Jix said and promptly placed a bid; three hundred.

Ailyn suddenly darted from their private viewing booth. Ahsoka rose to go after her. "I'll get her." Han said.

He stood and quickly followed the small child outside of the booth. He followed her down a row of private booths. When he caught up when her he gently pounced on her.

"Come on little hunter, we got to get back to our booth." He told her.

It was then that he heard it. The hiss of a hover chair.

Han turned in time to see a pudgy human hand covered in rings emerge from the privacy field of a private booth and gesture at a nearby server.

Han's eyes narrowed.

He knew of only one person that wore that many rings and that was so overweight that they needed a hover chair to get around and that was Threkin Horm.

Oh how Han hated that hutt of a man.

Quickly Han made his way back to their private booth.

"Guess who I believe I saw." Han said.

"Who?" Ahsoka asked.

"Threkin Horm." Han spat.

Leia's eyes narrowed.

"What's he doing here?" she demanded softly.

Han shrugged.

"Maybe he heard about the moss painting and decided to come and bid for it." Jix suggested.

Leia shook her head. "Mon told me that she told them that someone was going to retrieve the painting."

"I don't know either." Ahsoka said.

Jix made another bid.

The bidding went on for some time before Jix finally won it for seventeen hundred credits.

The whole auction went smoothly.

Finally it was time. Killik Twilight was brought out and guards surrounded it.

They watched as roughly a dozen beings, including Corray and the former Imperial captain made bids on it.

"Who owned the ship bringing Killik Twilight back to Alderaan?" Han asked. "The Horm Family." Leia responded.

"Interesting." Jix said as he pulled Ailyn away from the entrance to their booth.

"He would have had to means to steal it." Ahsoka said as she fished a snack for the children out of her knapsack.

"And with the destruction of Alderaan he would be free to do whatever he pleased with it because it was believe to have been destroyed on Alderaan." Han said.

Leia scowled.

Finally she stood.

"I am going to talk to a thief, it would look odd if no one else came with me." She stated.

Jix stood with Han.

"I will stay and watch the children." Ahsoka said.

Leia, Han and Jix made their way to the booth that Han had seen the hand.

The bidding was now heading into the tens of thousands.

Leia rapped on the entrance to the booth.

"What is it?" Horm's voice asked.

"We have a proposition for you." Leia said coolly.

There was silence.

"What could you possibly have Togruta that would interest me?" Horm asked in a tone full of derision.

"I am sure that certain people in the Republic would be very interested in the fact that you are here and that you have something of huge value believed to be destroyed." Jix commented.

There was silence for a few heartbeats.

"Enter." Horm said.

They entered the booth and stood in a semi circle around Horm.

Horm glared at them with his beady eyes.

"Why do you care?" Horm demanded.

Meanwhile the biding had reached the hundreds of thousands.

"We were all taught from a young age never to take something that doesn't belong to you." Jix said.

Horm narrowed his eyes.

"I have done nothing wrong." Horm growled.

"We know that your family owned the freighter that was bringing Killik Twilight back to Alderaan." Han said. "It would have been too easy to steal it and when the Imperials destroyed Alderaan, well you get to holo."

There was silence for several seconds.

Finally Horm spoke.

"What do you want?" He demanded.

The bidding was between Corray and the former Imperial.

Leia closed her eyes, reached out with the Force and detached the datachip from its place by the moisture control and let it fall to the floor.

"We would rather see it hanging in a museum than some former Imperial officer's stateroom." Leia said.

Horm spoke in his sommlink.

On stage Mawbo suddenly nodded.

"Seven hundred, seventy thousand, two hundred and fifty." Corray said.

"Seven hundred, seventy thousand and five hundred." The former Imperial said.

"Eight hundred, three thousand and six hundred." Corray said, jumping the price.

Silence fell and the former Imperial suddenly nodded.

"Eight hundred, three thousand and six hundred going once . . . going twice . . . and sold to the Midian." Mawbo said.

Leia, Han and Jix quickly made their way back to their booth. The children were playing quietly on the floor.

"I told them that we would sample the local cuisine later and they said that they wanted Ruby Bliels. So I told them that if they played quietly we would see." Ahsoka explained, slightly sheepish.

xxxx

Corray Ly-pah was surrounded by Storm Troopers and there was no escape.

A Chiss made his way through the Storm Troopers.

"You have two choices, you hand over the painting and you can go about your business or you can die and we will take the painting." He said.

Corray hesitated and reached out with the Force.

Sensing something she handed the painting over to the Chiss and he handed her a chip.

With that he disappeared and soon the troopers followed him.

xxxxxx


	3. Missing

The Solos and Jixtons sat at an outdoor café enjoying some of Tatooine's delicacies.

They were upset that the Imperials had taken the Killik Twilight but Leia felt some relief that she had the foresight to remove the datachip containing the codes with the Force and now the chip was in her pocket.

She had told Corray to get report personally to Mon Mothma about what had transpired on Tatooine. They all had a feeling that they hadn't seen the last of the former Imperials.

Leia laughed as Bail as he licked his fingers in an effort to get every last drop of Ruby Bliel

Suddenly Ahsoka stared to look around.

"Where's Ailyn?" She asked, fear in her voice.

Everyone stopped and looked around, there was no sign of the toddler.

Ahsoka started to stand but Jix beat her to it. "Stay here with Denis and Shaak Ti. I'll search for Ailyn." Jix said and hurried off.

"We should have never brought the children." Ahsoka said softly.

Twenty minutes past, then thirty.

Finally Jix returned looking grim.

"According to some local children she was lost and a man said that he would bring her back to her mother." Jix reported.

Ahsoka stood, fear in her eyes.

"We must report this!" She exclaimed.

"To who?" Han asked. "There really isn't any type of law here."

"We ask the locals about this man and find out if he is someone we should be worried about." Leia stated and stood.

xxxx

They walked to where the local children were playing. By this time parents were watching the children including Kitster Banai.

Jix walked right up to him.

Leia couldn't quite hear the exchange but by the way Kitster's face darken said that he knew the man and not in a good way.

Jix turned and gestured for them to come over.

"The man might be Aza Reeders," Kitster said. "He has been accused of taking young woman, mostly prostitutes and giving them to the Tuskens. However there is no proof."

Ahsoka moaned.

"We will search the city for him."

xxxxx

It took a bit before someone said the Reeders had left Mos Espa in a speeder, headed for the Dune Sea with a Togruta youngling in the front seat.

Ahsoka screamed and cried for several minutes.

"I know two swoop bikes that could catch up to him/" Kitster Banai said. "One belongs to a friend of mine the other to my ex wife."

"Why are you helping us?" Leia asked.

"It's what my childhood friend would have done." He said.

Considering that her father apparently had been his friend Leia just nodded.

xxxxx

They made their way to a parts shop near the edge of the city.

"Wald, I need to talk to you." kitster said as they entered the shop.

A Rodian turned from behind the counter.

"What do you need to talk about?" The Rodian, apparently Wald, asked.

"Reeders took a little Togruta and these people need your swoop to catch up to him." Kitster explained.

Wald grimaced.

"Reeders is slime and should have been shot years ago." He spat. "He tried to take my little Lolo earlier today for who knows what purposes. And everyone knows he has a connection to the Tusken Raiders!"

Leia felt a scowl come to her face.

Ever since her father had shared what he was feeling when his mother had died in his arms due to beatings she had received from the male Tuskens she had felt no love for them.

She didn't condone what her father did to them but if it had been her mother she would have probably slaughtered them too.

"So, which of you gentlemen is going to take the swoop?" Wald asked.

Han and Jix exchanged glances and Jix stepped forward. "I will."

Wald nodded.

"It's in the back." Wald said and led Jix into the back of the shop.

A short time later they returned with Jix leading a swoop bike.

"Now it's off to see Ulda." Kitster said without enthusiasm.

xxxx

They arrived at the Pod Racing Arena that also doubled as a Swoop Bike Racing Arena twenty minutes later. Leia could feel Ahsoka become more anxious as time went by.

"You might want to stay out here. Things could get ugly between me and Ulda." Kitster said. Leia nodded and stared at the arena

So this had been the place where her father had competed in a pod race.

It must have been incredible to watch.

Suddenly Kitster reappeared with a Kuat woman.

The Kuat woman gave them a cool look.

"So which of you females mate is going to ride my swoop?" She nearly demanded.

"My mate." Leia said, stepping forward.

The Kuat woman, Ulda, snorted.

"Well, let's see how good he is." Ulda said and started to walk away.

Leia picked up Bail and followed Ulda to the the front of the arena.

There was Han just getting on a thing that barely resembled a swoop bike.

Leia watched as Han finally geared the engine and took off.

A smile came to her lips as she watched Han show off.

"Looks like your man knows how to handle swoop bikes." Ulda said.

"He's just showing off." Leia told her.

Finally Han came over with the swoop.

"Nice ride." He commented.

"I hope you and your friend catch up with that slime Reeders" Ulda said. "He tried to take one of my girls last year."

"We will." Jix said as he mounted Wald's bike.

With that the two were off.

xxxx

Leia held Ahsoka as Kitster piloted the speeder through the streets of Mos Espa.

"I'd take you to my place but we are in the midst of selling it." Kitster said. "So I'll take you to a place where you can stay for free, no one will bother you and you can stay for as long as you need."

Leia glanced at the part of town they were now in. It screamed poor and the some.

Finally he stopped the speeder and walked up to a door of one of the many huts stacked on top of each other. He typed in a code and the door slid open.

They followed Kitster into the hut.

Leia could feel something familiar about the place.

Kitster ran a hand on the table and laughed when it came back covered in grime.

"This place hasn't been occupied in years." He commented. "Wald doesn't believe in slavery and the last owner of the shop sold his last slave five or so years before the out break of the Clone Wars."

"It will have to do until we hear from our mates." Leia said.

Kitster nodded.

"So what made you come to the auction?" Kitster asked.

Leia looked at Ahsoka before answering.

"We were asked by the Republic to see to the retrieval of Killik Twilight." Leia explained.

Kitster nodded.

"I can see why they would be interested in the painting." He said.

Ahsoka wandered the the hut, obviously upset.

"If you can arrange it with your mates I know a good place to rendezvous with them." Kitster said.

xxxx

Jix and Han stood surveying a sand crawler in the distance.

"Do you think we should comm them and ask them to stop?" Jix asked. "We have nothing to lose." Han said and pulled out his commlink.

xxxx

Leia dreamed that she was a revered and feared fleet commander and she was returning home to free the slaves of her home. She ran to a woman to embrace her but the woman vanished before she could reach her.

xxxx

Jix punched the side of the sand crawler, a dead end.

xxxxx


	4. Journal

xxxxx

Leia sat in the back of the speeder that Kitster was driving. His wife was sitting next to him with their children Ji and Elly.

"This sandstorm is getting bad, we aren't going to make it to Anchorhead." Kitster said. "We're going to stop at one of the farms."

Leia held Bail close as the ride got worse and worse.

Finally Kitster made a noise triumphantly.

"I know the farmers at this farm, it's been years since I last saw them but were llast spoke on good terms." Kitster said.

They came to a Forcefield and it deactivated.

Kitster quickly piloted through and stopped the speeder near the garage.

A figure dressed in protective gear came out and walked over to them.

"What can I do for you?" The figure, a man, asked.

"Is this the Lars Homestead?" Kitster asked.

"It was, My wife and I run it for Luke Skywalker." The man explained

"I'm Kitster Banai, an old friend of the Lars family." Kitster said. "Jula Darklighter." The man, Jula, said.

Jula turned and gestured for them to follow him.

"Come inside." He said and they followed him inside of the compound. Jula gestured for them to sit and they sat down around the small table.

"So, why are you traveling in this weather?" Jula asked, as his wife and daughter served them blue milk.

"My daughter was abducted by a man named Aza Reeders. We believe that he's going to give her to the Raiders for their twisted purposes." Ahsoka said as she rubbed Denis's left and back lekku.

Jula nodded.

"Silya and I would be devastated if that happened to Anya." Jula said.

"Our husbands are looking for him right now, they said that they would met us in Anchorhead." Leia said. "We were trying to get there ahead of the storm."

xxxx

Han and Jix sat in the Sidi Driss Inn.

"We are going to have to think of a new game plan once everyone else arrives." Jix said.

Han nodded in agreement.

Jix glanced out a window.

"I hope they either didn't leave Mos Espa or found shelter." He said.

xxxxx

Leia sat with Ahsoka in the garage, watching the wind blow the sand around.

Bail and Denis were teaching Ji and Elly how to play a The Togruta Quiet Game.

There was a lot of giggling.

An approaching presence made Leia turn her head to see Silya Darklighter standing there with a tray of food.

"I'm sorry that we aren't good company." Leia said.

"If my child and husband were somewhere out there I would be sitting out here." Silya said.

There was a moment of silence.

"You wouldn't happen to be Jedi would you?" She asked.

Ahsoka pulled her cloak aside to reveal her lightsaber and shoto.

"Would you mind giving this to Luke Skywalker then?" She asked and handed them a beat up datapad.

Leia took it and discovered that it was a journal.

"It belonged to one of his family members." Silya said and started to walk away before pausing. "We watched some of it before we realized that it was none of our business." She commented and disappeared back towards the Courtyard.

Leia waited until for awhile longer before turning on the datapad.

A list of entries appeared.

Leia selected the first one and watched as the woman from her dream the night before appeared on the screen.

Leia felt a frown come to her face.

"Who are you?" She asked softly.

"This thing is still not working." A warm female voice said.

"What are you doing?" A gravelly voice demanded.

The screen suddenly showed a blue Toydarian.

"I bought it with my spare money and thought-" "You thought that I could sell it for disobeying me?" The Toydarian asked. "Get back to work or I will."

The screen went blank.

Leia looked at Ahsoka before selecting the next entry.

The woman reappeared.

"Sorry about Ani.

"But I thought that you would like the reminder of Watto. He's not as bad as Gardulla was." The woman said.

"This journal is for you Ani so that when you come home you can see hoe my life has been and know just how much I love you.

"You must never feel guilty for leaving, your destiny always has been in the stars. I knew that the moment you were born."

The woman smiled.

"I love you Ani."

The screen went blank.

Leia selected the next entry.

"The woman appeared again, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"Oh Ani. Watto returned from a business trip today and said that a spacer told him that a Jedi perished on the planet Naboo.

"The spacer didn't know the name of the Jedi but he was an older one."

Tears were now running down the woman's face.

"Oh Ani, are you alright?"

xxxxxx

Leia turned to her son.

He was happily munching on something and still playing The Togruta Quiet Game.

"Ailyn's safe for now." Ahsoka whispered.

xxxxx

"I hope they didn't try to travel in this storm." Jix said to Han as they ate dinner.

"Leila wouldn't have let her travel in this kind of weather." Han told Jix.

"I hope you're right." Jix said, his gaze on the window.

xxxxx

Ailyn Jixton had never been more scared in her short life as she was right now.

She listened as the man that was supposed to take her back to her mommy talked to the strange aliens.

She knew that they were talking about her and that frightened her.

"_It's okay to be afraid Ailyn. It's what you do with that fear."_ She remembered Ani telling her several times.

xxxx

Ahsoka was dozing off when she felt Ailyn's fear in the Force.

She sat straight up and stared into the storm.

_If you hurt my daughter I will hurt you! I swear on Force!_ Ahsoka thought viscously.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The dream Leia had was a dream that Anakin had in the Novel of The Phantom Menace. In my opinion it is metaphorical of him killing the Emperor. The entire galaxy were slaves to Sidious and he freed them by killing him.

I figured since she was sleeping in his old room than there would be Force Imprints and since she is his daughter than and is close to him than she would be more susceptible to his Imprints.

Please review, I know you want to.


	5. Anchorhead

xxxxxxx

Ailyn shrieked as one of the aliens grabbed and handed her up to another one on a bantha.

The alien on the bantha held her tightly.

Soon the bantha started moving.

"Let me go!" She shrieked and started to thrash around.

The alien hit her on her montrals causing her to cry out in pain.

The alien snapped something that she didn't understand.

xxxxx

The sandstorm finally either blow it self out or moved on by late morning.

The group set out for Anchorhead again.

Ahsoka stared out at the landscape, clearly lost in thought.

"We will find Ailyn; even if we have to tear Tatooine apart we will find her." Leia told her.

Ahsoka nodded; not breaking her gaze from the landscape.

"Mommy, I'm hungry." Bail said softly.

"We'll eat when we arrive at Anchorhead." Leia told him.

xxxxx

Han watched as a landspeeder came to a halt in front of the Sidi Driss.

Jix embraced Ahsoka and rubbed Denis's back.

"Good news, locals grabbed Reeders when he came to town." Jix told them.

"The bad news?" Ahsoka asked.

Jix looked down. "Ailyn wasn't with him."

Tears entered Ahsoka's eyes.

"Local authorities are questioning him right now." Han said.

Ahsoka handed Shaak Ti to Leia and marched off down the street. Jix chased after her.

"I bet she wishes that she had some Bavo Six with her." Han commented.

"Bavo Six?" Kitster asked.

"It's a drug that's was used in interrogations." Han explained.

"It can be quite painful. There's another one that makes you believe anything that you are told. And one that increases your pain threshold." Leia chimed in.

Kitster's eyes widened.

"I thought that you were Jedi." He said.

"We have recognized that some things need to be expressed." Leia explained. "As long as she doesn't hurt him permanently she should be alright."

xxxxx

Asa Reeders smirked at the officer in front of him.

He knew that they had nothing on him and that soon they would release him.

The door opened and in walked two Togruta. The female looked about as happy as a mother Guru Bear with a missing cub

Reeders felt his blood freeze in his veins.

"Where is my daughter?" The female Togruta demanded.

Reeders shrank back in his seat.

"You better start talking or you will be on a one way trip to Coruscant." The male Togruta said calmly.

xxxxxx

Han laughed as he watched the children play the Togruta Quiet Game.

"They are so cute when they are that age." Kitster commented to them.

Han nodded.

"They are." He agreed.

The door to the room opened revealing Ahsoka and Jix. Han could see that Ahsoka had tears in her eyes.

"He said that we would never see Ailyn again." Jix said as he set Ahsoka down on the nearest chair.

"Mommy, tell Ani to come here." Denis said. "Yeah, make Ani come." Bail piped in.

"He'll find Ailyn." Denis said with certainly.

Leia leaned forward.

"Ani can't come, he made a promise not to help us unless he has permission to help." Leia explained.

Denis pouted.

"Ani shouldn't have done that." He said.

"He is a Guardian, not a Hunter." Leia explained.

"Ani need to help!" Bail cried.

A few things shook.

"Calm down." Leia said softly.

"We will find Ailyn, Mommy promises." Leia said.

xxxxx

"So who are you really?" Kitster asked over dinner.

"I am Wrenga Jixton, but call me Jix." Jix said. "This is my wife Ahsoka and two of our children Denis and Shaak Ti."

"I am Han Solo." Han said. "I am his wife, Leia Solo and this is our son Bail." Leia said.

Kitster and Tamora's eyes widened.

"You're Anakin's daughter?" Kitster asked.

Leia nodded.

"Wizard!" He breathed.

"We were friends growing up, before he left to join the Jedi." Kitster said. "He inspired me to follow my dream of becoming free. He gave me hope."

Leia felt her interest pique.

"By winning the Boonta Eve Classic." She stated.

Kitster nodded.

"Very few people believed that he could do it. No Human had ever won a Pod Race, let alone survived to tell the tale." Kitster explained.

Kitster smiled.

"Watto was so mad for a long time." He commented.

"Why?" Leia asked.

"Because he lost his most valuable slave." Kitster explained.

Leia's fork clattered to her plate , Han gaped, Jix's jaw hung open and Ahsoka's eyes were wide.

"My father was a slave?" She cried.

Kitster nodded.

"I was one too; until Wald bought me and freed me when I was fifteen." He explained.

Leia gasped and stared at her plate.

Ani had never told her about that before.

xxxxx

Leia tucked Bail into bed and headed to her and Han's room.

"We are leaving tomorrow for the Dune Sea in search of someone that can tell us where the Raiders took Ailyn." Han said.

Leia nodded.

"The medical droid said that I am ready." Leia told Han then planted a kiss on his cheek.

Han smiled.

"Well then, let's have some fun!"

xxxxx

"So we need to find some Jawas." Jix said.

"Jawas are possibly the only ones that can tell us where they are taking Ailyn." Kitster said.

Ahsoka sighed.

"She's scared, but she seems to be handling her fear." She reported.

"That's good, we should be able to find her more quickly if she is calm." Leia commented.

"Why can't you just reach out with the Force and find her that way?" Kitster asked.

"The Force doesn't care where Ailyn is, she could be on the other side of a mountain range for all we know." Ahsoka said.

xxxxx


	6. Rescued and Home Again

xxxxx

It was nearing nightfall when they ran into some Jawas.

The Jawas had an interesting story to tell. For nearly thirty years the Tusken Raiders brought woman of varying species and varying ages and left them in the remains of a village. A village that had been completely wiped out by something; something powerful and deadly. A shaman had revealed that the village had taken and killed a female of value to the creature. The shaman suggested leaving females in the remains of the village and see if the creature would take one to replace the female that had been killed.

Leia had her suspicions as to what that something was but didn't voice it.

Finally Leia directed Kitster to Obi-Wan's hut.

Everyone climbed out of the speeder and headed inside.

It looked just like the last time she saw it.

xxxxx

Leia barely slept all that night and the little sleep she got was plagued with nightmares that might have been Visions. She could also hear Ahsoka and Jix pace off and on when she was awake.

Han slept like a rock, of course.

The early morning found Leia sitting on a rock watching the suns rise.

She could feel the sorrow, despair and regret that Obi-Wan had felt over the years. She wondered idly if Obi-Wan always felt this way or if he had ever felt any hope while he was here.

Leia turned her eyes to what would soon be their destination.

_Hold on Ailyn, we are coming._

xxxxxx

Ailyn shivered as the alien set her in a tent that radiated pain, despair, a sliver of hope, death and blinding rage.

The alien tied her to a stake in the ground and exited the tent.

Hot tears of fear ran down Ailyn's face.

_Mommy, Daddy, help me!_

xxxxx

"We are going to need our ship." Han said. "That is the only way that we are going to get away from the Raiders."

Jix nodded.

"I can take Kitster and his family back to Mos Espa and pick up the Rekindled Dream and head for the Village." Jix said. "I would rather blast them for taking one of my little girls but that will have to wait."

Leia nearly nodded in agreement.

xxxxxx

In the end it was decided that the Banai family would travel with them to Coruscant and that everyone except Leia and Ahsoka would travel back to Mos Espa to get the ship and the Banai's things.

Leia watched as the speeder took off across the desert.

She waited until she could no longer see the sand that it kicked up before leading Ahsoka towards the village.

xxxx

They walked for several hours before arriving at the place. They paused on a sand dune and looked down at the remains of the village.

Leia swallowed.

She had only felt this kind of pain in several places: the Jedi Temple, Alderaan, in orbit of Eras and now here.

Beside her Ahsoka growled.

"There's only three Raiders down there." She said to Leia.

Leia nodded.

"Once we get the signal from Han we will move." Leia told Ahsoka.

They waited.

Finally Leia's commlink beeped twice. Leia reached for her lightsaber and the Ashlan lightwhip she had made before standing and running down the dune with Ahsoka at her side.

A Tusken cried and soon all three were running towards them.

Ahsoka ignited her lightsaber and took off the neatest one's arm. The Tusken howled in pain and fear. The other two backed up.

"Get Ailyn," Leia told Ahsoka as she took a position between the Tuskens and the hut that contained Ailyn.

xxxxx

Ahsoka raced to the hut and quickly ducked inside.

"Mommy!" Ailyn's voice cried.

Ahsoka turned her head and saw Ailyn sitting on the ground tied to a stake in the ground.

Ahsoka used her lightsaber to cut the cord and quickly scooped her middle child into her arms.

"I thought that I would never see you again!" Ahsoka told Ailyn. "Me too," Ailyn whispered.

Ahsoka ran her hand across Ailyn's montrals only for her daughter to whimper.

Ahsoka took a deep breath and ducked outside of the tent.

"I've got her!" Ahsoka called to Leia and then ran away from the village. Leia used her lightsaber to destroy the Tuskens blaster rifles before turning and following Ahsoka into the desert.

xxxx

Leia watched as Ahsoka examined the bruises on Ailyn's montrals, there were several. "They hit me if I make noise." Ailyn explained.

Finally the roar of the Rekindled Dream's engines reached them.

The ran out of the cave they hid in and raced up the ramp.

xxxx

The trip to Coruscant was uneventful.

And for that they were all grateful.

Finally they docked in the Hanger that was reserved for the Jedi Temple's bigger ships. They squeezed into a speeder van and headed for the Jedi Temple.

Once inside the Jixtons hurried to the Halls of Healing to see to the bruises on Ailyn's montrals and lekku.

"Thanks for the lift to Coruscant, now I just hope I can get a job." Kitster said.

"I know a few people that would love to have someone with your talents working for them." Han said. "And if not than I can talk to one of my friends and they might be willing to give you a job."

"Why don't you call them up now and see if you can arrange something." Leia said. Han nodded and hurried off.

Leia called out to Master Kira Dasha as she walked by.

"Where is my brother?" she asked her. "He was requested by the Sippschaft to help them with something. They were rather secretive but they meant him no harm. Young Mara Kryze went with him." Kira explained.

Leia sighed.

"When do you expect him to return?" she asked Kira. Kira shrugged. "A week, maybe two." Kira responded.

"Thank you Kira." Leia said.

"Mommy, see Ani?" Bail asked.

Leia smiled.

"Of course we can go see Ani." She replied.

"Ani miss us?" Bail asked curiously. "Maybe," Leia replied.

She led Kitster and his family through the corridors of the Temple to her and Han's quarters

"I am sure that you are all drained from the trip so I will let you rest up if you want to." Leia said as she opened the lock via the Force and made sure that the keypad was activated at the same time.

"There is a window that you can look out at the city from and the refresher is over there. The bedchambers are through the other doors and the kitchen area is the open place over there." Leia explained.

Tamora smiled with relief. "Thank you!" She said and led Ji and Elly into the main bedchamber.

"So when are you getting your disguise off?" Kitster asked as he surveyed the main room.

Leia shrugged. "Tomorrow I guess or later today." She replied.

"No!" Bail snapped. "Bail stay like Ailyn!" he declared.

"You are going to take a nap!" Leia declared.

"No!" Bail wailed.

Leia mentally winched at the noise.

"Bail Ruwee Solo, you will not take that tone with me." Leia said as she tried to pick up her nearly two year old son. Bail fought and squirmed.

At that moment a cloaked figure appeared from the kitchen.

"Ani!" Bail shrieked and ran to the person standing in front of the kitchen

To Leia's relief her father made no move to pick her son up.

Bail, irritated and sleep deprived, started to yank on Ani's cloak.

"Up!" Bail demanded.

"Only if you behave and take a nap." Ani replied.

Bail pouted.

"He's getting to the 'terrible twos' stage." Kitster commented. "Just don't give into him."

"Up!" Bail wailed. Ani shook his head.

Tired and frustrated Bail threw himself on the floor and screamed. Things shook slightly and a vase shattered.

Bail suddenly stopped his screams and stared at Ani.

"Enough," Ani told him softly.

Bail reached up and Ani picked him up. Within a few minutes he was fast asleep.

"I am sorry that you had to witness that." Leia told Kitster. "Ever since we went to Tatooine he didn't really have a nap."

"I understand." Kitster said. "I have two young ones myself."

"He has his mother and grandfather's temper." Ani said.

Leia rubbed her eyes with her hand and nodded.

"Kitster?" Ani suddenly asked.

Leia nodded again.

Suddenly Ani was talking a mile a minute.

"Are you going to introduce me to your silent friend?" Kitster asked.

"Kitster, this is my father Anakin Skywalker." Leia said.

xxxx

Kitster stared at the silent figure.

"All the reports say that he died nearly five years ago." He blurted out.

"He's a Force Ghost now." Leia explained. "But you can't tell anyone about him."

Kitster nodded.

"I missed you buddy. Wald freed me shortly before the Clone Wars." Kitster said. "He missed you too." Leia told Kitster.

Kitster laughed.

"Can he talk?" he asked. "Only Force Users can hear him." Leia told him.

"I always knew that you were going to go out with a bang Ani." Kitster said.

Ani shrugged.

"I have two kids now, Ji and Elly. They are so special to me." Kitster said.

"He says that children are always special to their parents." Leia said.

'Wald now owns Watto's Junk Shop and he does quite well with it. Jira died some years ago. They now hold Swoop Bike races in the Pod Racing Area as well as Pod Racing; not at the same time though."

Ani shook slightly, probably laughing.

"I even met Lord Vader before I got married for the first time. I was smuggling supplies to Argo IV and was stopped. I wasn't even questioned. One of the troopers told him who I was and he said that there was no reason to hold me." Kitster said

"I should check on Tamora and the children." Kitster said after the story.

Leia watched Kitster enter the room that Tamora and his children were in.

"Why don't you put Bail in bed. I am sure that it would be easier than holding him." Leia said to her father.

Ani nodded and disappeared into the Master Bedchamber.

Leia then sat down on the couch. It was good to be back home.

xxxxx

Fin

There will be a story featuring Luke and Mara's adventure. It will be on the Before the Saga Board since it takes place in the past.

Did I say time travel?

The Thrawn Fic will be posted whenever I write the first chapter.


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